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A Buzz Word

Traditionally the tree has mostly been used as a hedge crop to keep away animals from interfering with farm crops. It has also been used as a source of traditional medicine.

But of late, the name of the crop has turned into a buzz word among environmentalists and commercial organizations in Africa.

In Kenya, like elsewhere, the heightened interest in Jatropha is due to the fact that it is rich in biofuel. This can produce green energy without contributing to climate change. It may also relieve the local economy of the skyrocketing global oil prices.

Jatrophacurcas is a small tree with a smooth grey bark that exudes whitish-colored, watery latex when cut. It grows between 3 and 5 meters in height but can reach 8 or 10 meters under favorable conditions. It has large green leaves but only flowers when the shrub is leafless during cold weather. It may produce several crops during the year if soil moisture is good and temperature sufficiently high. Each batch of flowers yields around 10 or more fruits. The fruits are where all the oil that is used as biofuel is stored.

Endurance

Farmers in the Kenyan dry lands are optimistic that they have struck a green goldmine.

The plant may also hold the key to a cleaner environment. That is why environmentalists are facilitating planting of the crop in arid areas where food crops are difficult to grow.

One such group is Green Africa Foundation (GAF). Working in partnership with different research and development institutions, the foundation has spread the planting of Jatropha seedlings across Kenya.

GAF's chairman, Isaac Kalua, explained that rural folk can use the oil from Jatropha for lighting, running generators and farm machinery, and other domestic purposes. Currently, however, he said the available crop cannot cater for industrial production of biodiesel.

Kalua pointed out that Jatropha-derived biodiesel meets most of the chemical and physical standards of petroleum diesel. Biofuel can be mixed in any proportion with petro-diesel as fuel for diesel engines.

"Our program is designed to demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of biodiesel technologies," Kalua said.

According to Kalua, one acre of land, which holds approximately 800 trees, can produce 800 liters of oil twice a year once the plantation is three years old.

High Demand

A report released recently by Kenya's Ministry of Energy indicated that oil prices are on the rise. Projections also expect demand to increase over last year's rates.

The expenditure on importing oil translates to 40 percent of the county's annual foreign exchange earnings.

For this reason, the focus on Jatropha as a cheaper and cleaner biofuel, alongside other alternatives such as solar and ethanol, cannot be delayed.

Kalua noted that the technology has been employed and worked in many countries such as India, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. He added that heavy industries are moving toward the usage of biodiesel in order to minimize the cost of fuel. Kalua envisions a future where most cars run on plant-derived diesel in Kenya.

Easy to Establish

Nyumbani Village, a home for orphans in the dry Kitui district of Eastern Kenya, is among the institutions that have started cultivating Jatropha. Not only farmers are benefiting from Jatropha. Community-based organizations, such as women and youth groups within the district, have taken up the cultivation as well.

The village's farms manager, George Maina Mbatia, who is an expert on dry land farming, said they have planted 4,000 seeds and that they want to harness the crop's oil for use in the village. "Our village needs to sustain itself, yet the cost of fuel is expensive. For us, the Jatropha is a breakthrough. It will give us oil for our operations and also offer income," he said.

He called Jatropha the green gold of the lowlands and stated that they intend to plant it on a 20-hectares area. "The highlands boast of coffee as their black, gold, dry lands have the Jatropha."

Mbatia pointed out that managing the Jatropha plant is not difficult. "This is a hardy crop that can thrive in harsh conditions. The only thing a farmer needs to understand is its characteristics. Sometimes the whole crop could shed its leaves which could be confused as a symptom of disease attack. But it is merely its way of adaptation to harsh conditions," he noted.

However, if grown under irrigation, Mbatia explained that too much watering must be avoided as the crop will produce fruits that have too much biomass and less oil content.

Climate Change 

"Our studies show that the crop is very effective in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere," Kalua said.

Under new environmental schemes, developed countries can pay money to fund environment-friendly projects to offset their own CO2 releases. This is known as carbon trading. "The plant could form a carbon sink thus earning farmer's money from countries willing to trade in carbon credits. One hectare of Jatropha could result in CO2 emission reductions of 10 tones per year," Kalua stressed.

Jatrophafarming is a low-risk enterprise. It does not require high-investment capital or technical expertise. This makes it ideal for creating employment for women and young people.

Challenges

The fruits are collected and crushed to release their oil which is the source of the biofuel.

Indeed many people in rural Kenya still marvel at the concept of a tree producing diesel. Jacob Yator, a farmer from Uasin Gishu district in Kenya, said that his fellow farmers thought he was crazy when he told them he was growing a biodiesel crop.

GAF releases a Farmer's Guide that offers information on the crop's cultivation and use of its project. Yator, who has planted 4,000 seedlings from GAF, had to use this guide to convince his fellow farmers to plant Jatropha. It is only after learning about it that a number of them began its cultivation.

"Jatropha is normally used here as a hedge plant and for fencing graveyards. My neighbors thought me crazy when I claimed that it can produce oil that can substitute diesel," he said.

Impact on Food Production

Lucrative as biofuel production may prove, a debate is raging on the impact of biofuel crops on food crop production.

GAF chairman Kalua dispelled fears that the farmers in some areas might en masse abandon food production for crops like Jatropha. "The fear that food crop cultivation could be sacrificed at the altar of the better paying biofuel crops is unfounded, according to the Kenyan or even sub-Saharan Africa experience," he said.

"Jatropha is mainly grown in under-utilized dry areas, which supports few food crops. Such areas are plentiful in [Africa]," he said. Jatropha can also be intercropped with food crops like maize, even when grown under irrigation, thus posing no threat to food production.

Msangi Siwa, a research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), said that the future of biofuels in Kenya and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa depends on the future of agricultural growth and development.

"One can't have a successful and viable biofuel sector without a productive and vibrant agricultural sector to support it. Biofuels cannot make up for the lack of market opportunities for agricultural products by themselves,"he stressed. "If there are domestic policies and distortions that are harming the benefits that producers of agricultural products receive, then these must be corrected first," he said.

Apart from the energy-rich oil, the crop has other benefits. John Kioli, GAF director, said the crop can be used as medicine, fertilizer, and raw material for soap, cosmetics, and animal feed.

"The various uses have spawned what we call the Jatropha system. It creates a positive relation between raw materials, energy production, and caring for the environment."

As an affordable and clean source of oil, Jatropha and other biofuel crops generate interest that is set to grow in leaps and bounds in sub-Saharan Africa.